Smart Phone

Nokia is set to pair its hardware with Microsoft's Windows Phone software in an effort to fend off increased competition from Apple's iPhone, Google's Android operating system and Research in Motion's BlackBerry handsets. Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, made the widely expected decision official on Friday morning during a London news conference. "The entire smart phone market is growing rapidly, and we should be setting the pace," said Nokia Corp. Chief Executive Stephen Elop.

How could your smart phone be handier than hanging from your neck? And wouldn't it be nice to have some credit cards or cash there too? That's what you get with Vanesa Rey's new necklace cases , sleekly designed slim wallet cases (available only for the iPhone 5 and 5s for now) that dangle from a long removable antiqued brass chain, turning functionality into jewelry. The phone snaps into one side of the wallet, facing out so the touch screen is accessible; the other side has a cut out at the top left, making the camera and flashlight fully functional as well.

By the end of this year, Google's Android smart phone operating system will have leapfrogged competing mobile systems such as Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Microsoft Windows phones in global popularity, research firm Gartner Inc. said Friday. By 2014, Android will be challenging Nokia to become the world's most popular smart phone operating system, the firm said. The explosive growth of Android will make it the world's second-most-popular system by the end of 2010, Gartner said in its annual global smart-phone forecast.

Online ticket seller Fandango has come up with a new metric for measuring the "buzz" around upcoming movies. The NBCUniversal-owned company, which sells tickets to more than 20,000 screens nationwide, announced Friday the debut of "Fanticipation," a tool that helps predict what upcoming films will or will not resonate with fans at the box office. Similar to the Zagat restaurant surveys, the system assigns a percentage score to movies based on Fandango's proprietary data collected from its online and mobile traffic, social media sites and advance ticket sales.

If Apple Inc. had dreams of dominating the future of mobile phones, Google Inc. may have just given its rival a rude wake-up call. The two technology giants, once close allies, are increasingly at odds over competing technologies, and recently the clash has intensified with Google mounting a surprising attack on Apple's iPhone. A research firm said this week that phones with Google's Android operating system outsold Apple's popular iPhone in the U.S. for the first time. Google devices accounted for 28% of the smart phones bought in the first quarter, while Apple's iPhone tallied 21% of sales, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Bank of America Corp. and Visa Inc. plan to begin a test program next month that lets customers use smart phones to pay for purchases in stores. The program, to run from September through the end of the year in the New York area, is the biggest step yet by the two companies toward creating a "digital wallet" with a host of financial capabilities built into the latest, most sophisticated mobile phones. Major U.S. banks, technology companies and cellphone providers are jockeying for the lead in the technology, which some say could become a primary means of making everyday purchases.

Santa Monica resident Nathan Oventhal had heard the horror stories about people getting slammed with hundreds or thousands of dollars in roaming charges after traveling abroad with a smart phone. He was determined not to let it happen to him. During a recent trip to Paris, Oventhal used his iPhone only to snap a few pictures. No calls, no Internet, no e-mail. Nevertheless, he ended up being billed by AT&T to the tune of $550 for accessing 20 megabytes of data, the equivalent of about 10,000 pages of text or 10 high-resolution pictures.

In an ambitious bid to expand its reach even to consumers on the go, Google Inc. on Tuesday unveiled the widely anticipated Nexus One smart phone as it launched a bold new business model that could shake up the mobile phone industry. The Internet giant began selling the phone -- manufactured to its specifications by a Taiwanese firm -- directly to consumers through its website rather than through retail outlets and service providers. Although initially available only with T-Mobile service, the phone could eventually be used on other networks, including Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Group in Europe.

Security researchers Nick DePetrillo and Don Bailey have discovered a seven-digit numerical code that can unlock all kinds of secrets about you. It's your phone number. Using relatively simple techniques, this duo can use your cellphone number to figure out your name, where you live and work, where you travel and when you sleep. They could even listen to your voice messages and personal phone calls — if they wanted to. "It's really interesting to watch a phone number turn into a person's life," DePetrillo said.

A brief moment during a break Monday night in the Florida gubernatorial debate became the focus of next-day stories after one candidate accused his opponent of cheating. The debate's moderator, John King of CNN, posted video of the moment on his blog. Both candidates were being primped by makeup and hair people, and at one point, the makeup artist working on Democrat Alex Sink showed her a smart phone. Sink read something on the phone as her Republican opponent, Rick Scott, whose bald pate was being powdered, turned to CNN political editor Mark Preston.

For those who follow the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake begins Feb. 10. People born under this sign are thought to be more likely to be seductive, gregarious, charming, smart, good with money and, at times, a little jealous. The reptiles themselves are beautiful, sometimes dangerous, creatures that have inspired countless designers over the years. Here are some ways to incorporate the symbol of the year into your wardrobe, with no harm done to any living creature. It's hard not to turn heads in Equipment's Sloane crewneck cashmere sweater, $298 from Nordstrom, with its snakeskin print in neon yellow.

The Apple empire has extended to the baby crib. A new baby name report released this week by BabyCenter, a pregnancy and parenting information website, shows more parents named their children after Apple-related products in 2012. The name "Apple" was used for at least six girls in 2012, twice as many as in 2011. "Mac," meanwhile, was used for at least 49 boys, up from 25 a year ago. And at least 17 girls were named "Siri" this year, up from 11 last year. "The smart phone may just be the best parenting tool since diapers, and some moms and dads are paying homage to industry leader Apple in their choice of baby names," the baby name report says. The names are calculated based on the 450,000 babies born in 2012 to moms registered with BabyCenter.

Lost your phone at Coachella? You are not alone. A new study from mobile security company Lookout said there was a 37% spike in the number of people who were searching for a lost phone on the festival grounds and in nearby neighborhoods. What a surprise. A spokeswoman for Lookout said the increase was calculated based on phone locates from Lookout's users in the area surrounding the Coachella venue during last weekend's festival. The company mapped its anonymized data with Foursquare's API and compared the findings with the number of locates happening in the area when Coachella isn't in town.

Four taps on your smart phone could get you a last-minute deal on a hotel room. That's all it takes, Hotel Tonight estimates, to book one of its same-day hotel offers, currently available only on an iPhone, iPad or iTouch. Upgrades to the free mobile app that kicked in Monday mean more cities to choose from and the ability to add extra nights to a same-day find. For those unfamiliar with Hotel Tonight, the app lists three same-day deals a day in selected cities starting at noon local time.

Broadcom Corp., looking to widen its lineup of chips that handle smart phone data traffic, will acquire Israel-based Provigent for $313 million. Chips made by Provigent transmit data over microwave radio links from cell towers to the backbone network that carries the bulk of Internet data. Chips made by Irvine-based Broadcom carry the data via fiber optic lines from the towers to the backbone network. "We have a portion of the solution and Provigent has a portion of the solution," said Rajiv Ramaswami, a Broadcom executive vice president.

Amazon.com Inc. began selling applications for the Google Android smart phone in its new "Appstore" just days after Apple Inc. filed a lawsuit claiming that the digital storefront infringes its "App Store" trademark. Escalating the fight with Apple, Amazon said Tuesday that it was giving away an Android version of a popular game as part of the promotion for the new site. Normally the game, Angry Birds Rio, would sell for 99 cents, just as it does in Apple's iTunes App Store. The move was seen as a challenge to Google Inc.'s Android Marketplace for apps that run on smart phones and tablets using the Android operating system.

Facebook wants to make mobile phones more social. The world's largest social network has been quietly developing software that would make smart phones look and function more like its online service, according to a source familiar with the project. Facebook issued a statement Monday denying it was "building a phone" but left open the possibility for deeper ties with handset makers and carriers. Facebook already has more than 150 million users logging on through their mobile devices.

Just as quickly as it came, Microsoft Corp. is saying goodbye to its Kin line of phones. The Kin, a pair of Verizon Wireless smart phones aimed at young consumers, hit store shelves about seven weeks ago but appears to have failed to keep its cool. Kin's development team will join the mobile group that's working on the Windows Phone 7 operating system, Microsoft said. So where did Microsoft's bundles of joy go wrong? Early on, Microsoft had to pull its Kin promotional campaign after complaints about "sexting" connotations — not smart for a supposedly kid-friendly brand.

Google Inc. has been hinting for months that it would roll out a mobile payment service so that shoppers could pay for purchases with their smart phones. Now Bloomberg News is reporting that Google will begin testing the service at stores in San Francisco and New York in the next four months by installing thousands of cash register systems from VeriFone Systems Inc. The technology ? called near field communication, which transmits signals over short distances ? would let shoppers ditch cash or plastic (or even loyalty and gift cards and coupons)

If language limitations have kept Asia off your destination list, smart-phone applications can help you overcome those barriers. Before you go abroad, try testing apps that use the Internet or GPS to determine how much data roaming they do. Adding an international data plan may minimize the risk of your wireless carrier socking you with expensive international data charges. Language translation Google Translate: Translates words and phrases for 57 languages but requires Internet access.